Top Tips for Running Your Own Business

Running your own business can be a million different things: exhilarating, daunting, demanding, liberating, stressful and rewarding. But whether you’re aiming to open a shop or become the next Richard Branson, there are means and ways of ensuring you get the fundamentals right, which will make the rollercoaster all the smoother.

Firstly, I would suggest you plan, plan, plan! Set yourself weekly targets. Work out what your monthly sales need to be and how many people you need to meet to achieve those sales. Who are your hot leads? Are sales up or down this week, compared to last week? At Ultimo, we have a huge wall that tracks all of these things, which is fantastic way to keep everyone focused and motivated, week after week.

Secondly, one of the most useful things you can do in the early days is network. I’ve lost count of how many thousands of events I’ve attended in my career and with one goal and one goal only - to promote my business. Certainly in the initial years of Ultimo, it was a large part of my marketing strategy, attending retail balls and lingerie trade events, and it worked. But avoid being disillusioned if you don’t see the results immediately; remember, you’re playing the long game and some contacts won’t prove useful until years later.

Thirdly, use targeted, clever marketing – don’t waste your money on advertising for advertising sake! From fun stunts that will capture the media’s attention to imaginative e-shots with compelling copy, there are so many ways to promote your business on a shoestring budget. Just don’t be complacent that business will come to you; it simply won’t. But whatever you do, make sure your message is clear, consistent and “on brand” at all times.

Finally, listen to your customers! Browse online for feedback, conduct surveys, hold focus groups – do whatever you can to engage with your target market. Don’t make the mistake of being blinkered about what you want to produce or sell. You have to be very aware of what your potential and existing customers want – not just what you think they want! Continue to pick peoples’ brains as an ongoing habit. This will help you to keep a realistic perspective, which will in turn help to grow your business.

And of course – remember to have fun! Running your own business should be an enjoyable and satisfying experience, and the chance to create a whole new life for yourself. What could be more exciting?

About Michelle Mone

Michelle is one of the UK's most successful female entrepreneurs and founder of international lingerie brand, Ultimo. The award-winning 'Bra Queen' and co-owner of Ultimo Brands International has built her success on determination, self-belief and hard work which led her to be voted as Britain's Number One most powerful woman in business by Glamour magazine as well as receiving an OBE from The Queen in 2010 in recognition of her services to UK business.

We asked some of our former Shell LiveWIRE winners what their experience was of hiring and managing people as a young business owner and, now all successful companies, what advice they wished they had received then!

You can help decide which start-up will win February’s Smarter Future Award!
Biohm Ltd, Captum Technology, CDB Container Conversions, EcoBox and Enni are shortlisted for February’s Award and are one step closer to receiving £5,000 of funding!
Head to our website now to watch each start-up’s elevator pitch and vote for who you think should join our alumni network! http://go.shell.com/2pdSB2I

Posted on Mar 15 2018 11:00am

Earlier this week Shell Springboard awarded Cambond, Brill Power and Seawater Greenhouse £40,000 no-strings attached funding!
Cambond is a Cambridge based start-up who has developed a plant-based resin with a range of biomass fibres and polymers to make CAMPOSITE, a planet friendly alternative to plastics. Brill Power develops cutting-edge battery management technology to increase the lifetime of lithium-ion battery packs for grid-scale energy storage and electric vehicles. Seawater Greenhouse use sunlight, wind and seawater to grow crops in arid coastal environments.
The 3 winners also secured a place at the Shell Springboard national final, where they will have the opportunity win an additional £110,000!
http://go.shell.com/2GrJOT2

Posted on Mar 14 2018 12:03pm

We’re excited to share that the shortlist for February’s Smarter Future Award has been revealed! The five businesses on this month’s shortlist are helping to reduce waste across a range of different sectors!
Congratulations to Ehab Sayed from Biohm Ltd, Nathan Edwards from CDB Container Conversions, Sam Ghazizadeh from Captum Technology, Stephen Ao from EcoBox and Ali Haddad from Enni who are all one step closer to winning £5,000!
You can find out more about each business here: http://go.shell.com/2I4l6bM